Why some downtime might prove beneficial to Tomas Hertl

By Curtis Pashelka, Bay Area News Group

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

SAN JOSE — The Sharks had the rare fortune this week of being able to take a complete day off and still get in two solid practices in advance of their game against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

There was even a wine sampling event at SAP Center earlier on Tuesday, giving everyone a chance to get their mind off of hockey for a few hours.

The downtime might do Tomas Hertl some good. Not just from a rest and recovery standpoint, but also in terms of getting some distance from his last outing.

The typically affable Hertl was his own worst critic after Sunday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hertl admitted he didn’t have much of an impact, and basically agreed with coach Pete DeBoer’s decision to sit him down for a few shifts in the third period.

Hertl, 24, finished with 15:34 of ice time in the Sharks’ 4-2 loss to Columbus, his fourth-lowest total this season for a game in which he didn’t miss time because of injury or ejection. He now has just one goal in his last 15 games, and one assist in six games since he returned from an upper body injury.

“I know what I did bad and my legs were pretty slow too,” Hertl said after Wednesday’s practice. “If your feet aren’t moving, it’s tough to play well. If you can’t skate, it’s tough to make plays.”

The key for Hertl, according to DeBoer, is moving past mistakes. Hertl needs to not let one bad shift affect the next, and especially not let one bad game linger for too long.

“He’s always been really tough on himself as a player, and there’s good and bad with that,” DeBoer said. “He has a real honest assessment of his own game. Usually, he’s looking at it the same way you are, which is nice from a coaching point of view.

“At the same time, I think, still something he has to get better at is finding a way on a bad night not to let it turn into a whole game. Cut it off, and then moving past it when you do have bad nights. Because in this league, that comes with the territory. Not every game is going to feel great.”

There’s little question Hertl will need to be more of a difference-maker as the Sharks look to hold onto a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Going into Thursday, when Hertl is expected to be back on the second line against the Blues, the Sharks hold third place in the Pacific Division with 79 points, one behind Anaheim.

San Jose is also just two points ahead of both Los Angeles and Colorado. Officially, the Kings are owners of the Western Conference’s second wild card spot.

“Everyone has tough games where they don’t play the way they want to,” Sharks center Logan Couture said. “He’s going to come back and I think he’s going to play well tomorrow.”

Hertl, despite his scoring woes, is fifth on the Sharks this season in goals (15) and points (34).

With no health issues right now and 16 games left, he could easily get on a roll and eclipse his career best of 21 goals, which he reached two years ago when he played alongside Joe Thornton for roughly half of the 2015-16 season.

Maybe it’s all about building some confidence and getting a fresh start, starting with Thursday night.

“We’ve got 16 to go, and I have to be ready for all 16 games,” Hertl said. “Not just for every third game, but for all 16. I’m ready for it.”

? With their power play mired in an 0-for-28 slump over the last 12 games, DeBoer moved Kevin Labanc to the top unit with Couture, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane. The second unit had Hertl, Joonas Donskoi, Mikkel Boedker, Timo Meier and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Labanc has spent time on the top unit this season. The Sharks’ power play entered Wednesday ranked 12th in the NHL at 20.8 percent.

“He’s a gifted power play guy,” DeBoer said of Labanc.. “He’s got some real good instincts. He thinks scoring and making plays. He’s one of our options there. We’re going to move guys around until we start sticking some in the back of the net.”

? Forward Melker Karlsson missed practice for the second straight day with a lower body injury, as Marcus Sorensen skated on the fourth line for Wednesday’s practice with Eric Fehr and Barclay Goodrow. Karlsson’s availability for Thursday’s game is unknown.